The Radziwiłł Mausoleum
in Nesvizh.
Research

In the Early modern period people firmly believed that prayers and donations could help them guarantee a place for their souls in the afterlife, and religious attributes placed in the coffins together with the corps of the deceased would ensure the intercession of the saints and shorten the time spent in purgatory. It stands to reason that the Radziwiłł, being people of that epoch, were not indifferent to such attributes. This is testified to by the articles found in the crypt of the Corpus Christi Church in Nesvizh in 2017¹Information and generalisations in the present text are presented on the basis of research material on 11 burials (sarcophagi) in the crypt of the Corpus Christi Church in Nesvizh conducted in 2016 and 2017. Sarcophagi No 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 11, 14, 15, 17, 19, and 72 were studied. The numbering of the sarcophagi is hereinafter referred to in accordance with the Inventory carried out by the Department of Cultural Heritage (Lithuania) in 1999, see [Gintaras Kazlauskas, et al.], Kunigaikščių Radvilų mauzoliejaus inventorizacija: [the manuscript; preserved at the Department of Cultural Heritage under the Ministry of Culture (Lithuania)], 1999, p. [18] [the scheme]..

The Carmelite scapular was one of such attributes. It became popular in the territory of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the second half of the 17th century. It was believed that the scapular ensured assistance of the Blessed Virgin Mary to an individual at the time of death, and he who wore the Carmelite scapular had lived a dignified and exemplary life and entered the purgatory – on the first Saturday following his/her death he/she would be saved by the Blessed Virgin Mary²Mindaugas Paknys, Mirties reiškinys LDK XVI–XVIII a., Vilnius: Aidai, 2008, p. 158.. Mikołaj Krzysztof Radziwiłł (1695-1715), Urszula Franciszka Radziwiłł (1705-1753) and Karol Stanisław Radziwiłł Panie Kochanku (1734-1790)³Sarcophagi No 14, 17, and 19. were buried wearing scapulars. The scapular of Mikolaj Krzysztof Radziwiłł stands out from others. It consists of two small rectangular pieces of cloth joined by moire bands (the total length is 62 cm). Two intertwined hearts are embroidered on each rectangular (10 x 10,5 cm). The Christogram IHS (the first letters of the name Jesus in Greek alphabet) framed with the Latin phrase “VERBUM CARO FACTUM EST” (in English “Here the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us”; from John 1:14) is embroidered in the centre of the hearts. An oval wood medallion bearing the image of the Virgin Mary and the Child Jesus on one side, and the the Christogram IHS on the other, was sewn under the cloth. The monogram of the Blessed Virgin Mary framed with the Latin phrase “MATERI DEI MEMENTO MEI” (in English “Mother of God, remember me”) was embroidered between the twisted hearts on another rectangular. The relic – a small piece of wood was sewn under the cloth.

According to the contemporaries, Urszula Franciszka was a very religious woman. This is evidenced by the abundance of religious attributes found in her coffin. A crumbled scapular and some fragments of an unusual belt on her waist were found in the coffin. The edges of the belt were decorated with silver and golden ornaments and the following inscription in the Polish language was embossed between them: “…PODCZIE DO MNIE WSZY … W UTRAPIENIACH ZOSTANIECIE JA WAS POC …” It might be a line from the Gospel of Matthew: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest!” (Mt 11:28). A piece of the sacred image painted on parchment, more precisely, the lower part of it, was also found in the coffin. A tree trunk, bare feet and the inscription “Jacobus de Mar…” are visible on it. Most probably it portrays St. James of the Marches – a Franciscan, a disciple of Bernardino of Siena who lived in the 15th century; he was canonized in 1726. He is directly related to Saint Francis of Assisi, the founder of the Franciscan Order, the holy patron of the name of Urszula Franciszka. Historical data prove that the princess maintained close relationship with the two great Mendicant Orders – the Franciscans and Dominicans. Her half-sister (her mother’s daughter by her previous marriage) was a prioress of the Dominican monastery in Lviv. Her widowed mother also lived there⁴Archiwum Główne Akt Dawnych. Archiwum Warszawskie Radziwiłłów, dz. VI, nr. II-80a, p. 1253.. It was not by chance that after her death, first of all the Bernardines and the Dominicans had to pray for her, for one week each, and later the monks of other Orders⁵Ibid., p. 1913-1914.. As to the belt, most likely it is a Dominican attribute because among the monasteries funded by Urszula Franciszka, they were the only ones to wear a belt to gird the monk’s habits.

Taking into account the context of the Baroque period where piety and giving prominence to death were of high importance, the surprising thing is that no religious attributes were found in the coffins⁶Sarcophagi No 15 and 11. of Hieronim Florian Radziwiłł (1715-1760) and Michał Kazimierz Radziwiłł Rybeńko (1702-1762). On the one hand, they could simply have not survived or got lost due to damages caused by time and people. On the other hand, Hieronim Florian can hardly be referred to as a sincerely pious man. He might not have been a freethinker; however, in his diary he constantly disparaged the priests and reproached them for their immoral behaviour. Besides, his activities of funding the church, as compared with other members of his family, were not intense⁷Lina Balaišytė, “Mecenatas ar tironas? Jeronimas Florijonas Radvila”, Darbai ir dienos, 2004, vol. 37, p. 141..

Vytautė Lukšėnienė